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(NewsDakota.com)- Seven finalists have been selected for the annual North Dakota Mr. Basketball award.KyJuan Johnson of Minot, Tronis McKay from Four Winds-Minnewaukan, Jacob Mertens of Devils Lake, Dickinson’s Aanen Moody, Logan Nelson from Northern Cass, Jake Paper from Fargo Davies and Fargo North’s Siman Sem are up for the senior award, presented by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.The winner will be announced after the state Class B championship game in Minot on Saturday night.
Johnson, a 6-foot point point guard for the three-time defending champion Minot Magicians, capped his career by averaging 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Johnson shot 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range.
McKay, the leading scorer for defending Class B champion Four Winds-Minnewaukan, enters the state tournament averaging 21.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals. The 6-3 guard/forward is shooting 60 percent from the floor and 75 percent on free throws.
Mertens, a 6-3 guard, averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while making 44 percent of his 3-point tries.
Moody, a 6-3 guard, finished as the all-time leading scorer in Class A basketball. He capped his career by averaging 30.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3 assists per game for the Dickinson Midgets.
Nelson averaged 27.6 points per game for Northern Cass. The 6-3 guard also accounted for 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Nelson made 57.7 percent of his two-point shots, 37.1 percent on 3s and 86.7 from the line.
Paper, 6-7 forward, piled up 18.9 points and 12.9 rebounds per game for the Eagles. He shot 61 percent from the floor and also blocked 2.3 shots per game.
Sem, a 6-4 guard/forward, was limited to 13 games due to injury, but put up 22.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest before getting hurt. He shot 46 from the field and 34 percent on 3-pointers.